Democrat Dious enters race to replace Broun

Government and business reporter

Ken Dious, an Athens lawyer, formally threw his hat in for the party Monday, after weeks of consulting with party members throughout the state. He’s the only Democrat to announce for the seat and the first to run from that party since 2010.

That year, Rep. Paul Broun, now a U.S. Senate candidate, thumped Democrat Russell Edwards, pulling in more than 67 percent of the vote. In 2012, no Democrat filed for the district, leading to a write-in campaign for Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution.

Dious was straightforward on why he didn’t pursue the seat in the last election: Broun was an incumbent in a predominantly Republican district. But now, he’s fighting to stop the continuation of what he describes as dangerous ideas, even if Broun isn’t running again.

“From what I can tell, they’re all another Paul Broun, saying, ‘Let’s shut down the government,’ ” Dious said of six Republicans hoping to replace Broun.

Doing so, Dious cautioned, would bring about another “tidal wave of recession,” as crashing markets claim retirement funds and those depending on Social Security checks find their mailboxes empty. He instead will be embarking on a mission of asking voters to vote in their best interest, not party affiliation.

“I think a lot of people in my district, if they vote with the ‘R’ lever, they’re going to be voting against their own interests,” he said, listing off things like health care to help the uninsured gain coverage and what he characterized as the failed theory of trickle down economics, popularized during the Reagan administration.

Dious said he’s well aware of the problems faced by 10th District voters, with his 40-year-old law firm drawing its roots in Athens-Clarke and surrounding counties. The problems are much the same as the rest of the country: lack of jobs and industry coupled with a crumbling education system.

Dious pitched the idea of tax reforms, both the carrot of incentive and stick of penalties, to encourage multinational businesses to bring plants back to the United States. And education needs to be removed from federal governance and back to the local level, where a district can set “its own destiny.”

He also toed the line of what could be talking points for his eventual GOP contender, should the Democratic field remain barren: “You can’t borrow your way out of a deficit” and the need to end entitlements. But instead of immediate slashing, evidenced by the $39 billion cut to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program the GOP-dominated House of Representatives approved last week, he advocated for a 10- to 15-year plan to ease the country and its dependents off such programs and avoid shocking individuals or the economy.

Dious also called for looking at loopholes to close, particularly for the wealthiest of Americans, as opposed to changes to the tax structure. Several, if not all, of the GOP field have advocated for switching the federal revenue stream to a sales-tax oriented system.

Dious isn’t a political stranger. He’s on the executive committee of the Clarke County Democrats as vice chair of special projects; drew an alternative map during the 2011 local redistricting process; represented former Commissioner Alvin Sheats after a razor-loss in a 2002 primary that was briefly challenged; and even ran for the state House of Representative years ago. In his office, leaning against a corner, are the banners from when he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2008.

Professionally, he’s maintained his law practice since 1974. All of his degrees — a bachelor’s in business finance, a master’s of eduction in math and a law degree — came from the University of Georgia. He also earned a roster spot on the football team, becoming one of the first African Americans to break through that barrier in the Southeastern Conference.

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